Hygrophila corymbosa 'Kompakt'

Hygrophila corymbosa

A compact cultivar of the temple plant (Hygrophila corymbosa) bred in a nursery: very short internodes and many side shoots give a dense, bushy growth only 10–15 cm tall.

Light: low
Difficulty: medium
Height: 20 – 30 cm (7.9 – 12 in)
Temperature: 18 – 30 °C (64 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green, red
Plant type: stem plant
Growth rate: fast
CO₂ demand: low
Tolerates light: medium – high
pH: 5 – 7
Carbonate hardness: 2 – 18 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: semi-emersed, background +3 semi-emersed, background, midground, Dutch street, foreground
Propagation: cuttings
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

The leaves sit close to the stem because of the short internodes, there are many shoots, and the plant forms a dense bush. Height 10–15 cm, a little more with good care. In the aquarium the leaves are light green with a silvery-white underside; in strong light the young leaves can turn reddish-brown.

Keeping

It grows noticeably slower than other forms of the temple plant and is more demanding of light: it does best under medium and strong light, though it survives under weak light too, without CO₂, which clearly improves growth but is not required. Temperature 24–28 °C, CO₂ 10–40 mg/l.

Placement

It trims well into a bush. The foreground in large aquariums, the midground in small ones; it also suits nano aquariums.

Trade names

Also sold as 'Compact' and 'Mini'.

Water conditions match

The water suits 841 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Butterflyfish Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Homaloptera bilineata Red-tailed Rasbora Boraras naevus Lampeye Killifish Spotted Raphael Catfish Corydoras melanotaenia Festivum cichlid Pseudomugil paskai

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Will uproot it

These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.

Marble Loach Peacock Eel Forktail Loach Guntea Loach Long-nosed Loach Horseface Loach Pearlscale Black Moor Goldfish Shubunkin Painted Pleco Featherfin Synodontis Reddish Mystus Catfish Blue Acara Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearl Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Haplochromis philander Red Chromide Jack Dempsey cichlid

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Hygrophila stricta (Nees) Lindau, Nomaphila siamensis C. B. Clarke, Cryptophragmium axillare, Echinacanthus brugmansianus, Echinacanthus javanicus, Gymnostachyum axillare, Hygrophila stricta, Justicia roxburghiana, Justicia stricta, Nomaphila corymbosa, Nomaphila minor, Nomaphila siamensis, Nomaphila stricta, Nomaphila stricta hirtisepala, Nomaphila stricta tomentosa, Ruellia paniculata
Hygrophila corymbosa: (Blume) Lindau
Family: Acanthaceae